Yukiji
Yukiji (雪路) was the former lover from Tomoe's forgotten past. Her village was destroyed in a yokai attack by Akura-Ou and his comrade Tomoe, leaving her the only survivor. Though in the chapter 18, Akura-ou stated that a lot of them managed to escape, as he was looking for Yukiji he figured that she might have escaped with them. Nanami's spirit was taken to the past using Mizuki's time-traveling Incense Burner and into Yukiji's body. It was during that time that Nanami (as Yukiji) met Tomoe of the past. History Yukiji lived five hundred years ago from prior to the start of the manga. Not much is known about her or where she came from besides that she was born into a small village that was destroyed by the two most powerful demons in the world, Akura-ou (The Demon King) and Tomoe (The Demon Fox). It is shown that while Nanami was inside of Yukiji's body during this event, that she tripped and fell. And during the flash backs in the most recent chapters, it is evident that Yukiji came back to her village and saw that everything was burnt to the ground, leaving her with no home or family. It's unknown if Yukiji then left to find another village or not, but she became the adopted daughter of a nobleman due to her talents and beauty and she had stayed in that house ever since then. Appearance Yukiji appears to be a young women in her early 20's. She has long straight hair that reaches past her shoulders to her mid-back, she has bangs, but she brushes them to the side of her face. She has fair skin, dark cold eyes and dark brown hair similar to Nanami's. She has a reknowned beauty making her well desired for being the wife of many men. Her face and eye shape are similar to Nanami's but much more mature and sharp-looking. However she admitted that her eyes could never be like Nanami's for it lacked the hope Nanami's eyes held. She is also noted to have small hands. Personality Yukiji is usually very composed, apparently very cold, calculating, and sometimes even cruel but in reality she's kind, brave and willing to help those in need for as long as they are humans. She is also very smart and knowledgeable. But it is only because of her beauty that she is sought after by many men who wish to make her their wife. Though Yukiji wants to get married, she refuses to marry just anyone. This was shown when Nanami asked her how the meeting with a suitor turned out, Yukiji replied that he was an old pervert and that she kicked him in the face, which led her to make another, better, marriage arrangement. Yukiji and Nanami have similar personalities, but Yukiji doesn't mind shedding blood and has no remorse, which was shown when she cuts off a Yokai's head, not at least bit concerned with the blood on her face as she proceeded to cut up the Yokai some more. However, her father stopped her. Yukiji appears to be lady like and one can never guess that she has a violent personality. When she is with Nanami, it becomes evident that she is tomboyish with her speech and actions. However, Yukiji doesn't seem to let others on about how she is truly like. Her most distinguishing trait, besides her beauty, is her hate for yokai, which she blames them for her being all alone in the world due to a yokai burning down her original village. She has a deep desire to be married in order to create a blood-related family, to save herself from her loneliness. Plot Overview She meets Nanami when her servant boy came to inform her of her being captured by the Townsmen for interrogation, thinking she was the servant of the fox demon Tomoe, and a demon herself. Yukiji arrives right in time to save her from being burned to death by fire. She starts to question and interrogate Nanami herself, asking if she was a yokai. Once she looks into Nanami's eyes, she can tell that she is not, and therefore saves Nanami from the townsmen who were most likely going to kill her if she didn't tell them where the Tomoe's lair was located. When Nanami thanks her for her helping her, Yukiji is moved and remembers the feelings she once had when she was with her family in her own village. She takes Nanami back home, treating her like a guest and cooking for her and even giving her a beautiful kimono to wear (Because of her old clothing that she was wearing got her caught in the first place). Yukiji becomes extremely fond of her, as she becomes her old self when Nanami is around. She sees her as family like a sister or a daughter. In chapter 85, after Yukiji celebrated Tomoe's misfortune and revealed her hatred for yokai, despite Nanami's knowledge that it was Yukiji who saved Tomoe, Nanami runs to the river where she knew Tomoe had been washed up. Nanami brings back Tomoe, who was disguised as a human child, in order to save him. Yukiji warned her that it was possibly the demon fox everyone was looking for. Her suspicions were correct of course but when she tells Nanami that they should give him to the townspeople, Nanami refused and begged Yukiji to save the boy, lying and saying that the boy was from her village. In chapter 86, Yukiji sits down with Nanami and tells that she will be away for a couple of days for a marriage arrangement. Before she leaves, she tells Nanami not to leave while she is gone. With that, Yukiji put Nanami in the care of her servant boy, Fuuta, to watch over her. In chapter 88, Tomoe helped her when she collapsed by the road during rain. Tomoe didn't show himself to her that time. Yukiji was initially grateful, leaving behind some of her expensive clothing as a gift that he could most likely sale, but ran away soon when she learned that her savior's name was Tomoe. She commented to herself that the demon that the village men were looking for was also named Tomoe. Yukiji meets up Nanami again in chapter 90 when Nanami time traveled for the second time. Where Nanami, Futa, Suke, and herself stayed in a Inn. Yukiji tells Nanami about the perverted old men that tried to touch her and how she stomped hard on his face, saying that due to that, she was able to get a much better marriage proposal and that she had gone to the capital to get some items for it. Nanami finds out that 3 months have passed since she disappeared in chapter 86. Nanami then asks Yukiji if she knows about a fallen god she is looking for to which Yukiji replies no and that there is no mountain nearby that has the name as the one Nanami described. When Nanami become uneasy of not getting involved between Yukiji and Tomoe, Yukiji hugs her and states that it is fate for them to meet again, and that she shouldn't be worried about it. To which Nanami states that she always calms down when Yukiji is touching her and that she is a mysterious person. When they all head back to Yukiji's village, Nanami is nearly attacked by a yokai you mistook her for Yukiji, but Yukiji came in right in time and slashed its head off. Yukiji's father than states that even though her life is in danger there is nothing more they can do. To which Yukiji sadly agrees and states that "I have no choice but to leave my fate to God." To which Nanami then states that she will be the decoy in the wedding tomorrow. Thinking to herself that she would do anything to keep Yukiji's smile on her face. In chapter 91 Yukiji immediately refuses to allow Nanami take her place in the wedding, calling it foolish. But much to her dismay, her adopted father supported it and permits Nanami to do so. Yukiji attempts to convince her father otherwise but he states not to worry about it and do as she is told, making Fuuta mad that he doesn't care about Yukiji's well being at all but only himself. When Yukiji once again tries to persuade him, he stops her and says that indeed Youkai will want her because of her well known beauty, and that a filthy girl such as Nanami could never copy it. Finally a female servant shouts out that Nanami is ready, and Nanami steps out in Yukiji's wedding dress and her hair parted just like her, making her look almost exactly like Yukiji, leaving everyone bewildered. Fuuta then wonders that though he always thought they looked alike, never considered it could be in that great an extent, and concludes that Nanami must be blood related to Yukiji for it to be possible. However, Yukiji slams the door in anger, yelling that it was a stupid idea and all of this will only ruin her happiness. Nanami apologizes and states that though that was not her intentions, says that her dream is the same as Yukiji's and so promised she won't let her die. Yukiji smiles and states that they were nothing alike at all because of the hope Nanami's eyes always had. Nanami smiles and holds her shoulders, while shouting that Yukiji's father better keep his promise to search for Kuromaro. Relationships Nanami Momozono On Nanami's first time-travel to the past using only her spirit, she inhabit's Yukiji's body wherein she and Yukiji have their first encounter with the past Tomoe. This was at the time Yukiji saw her village burned down by no other than Tomoe and Akura-ou and she developed her long-running hatred for youkai. Later on she time-travels once more in order to get the Dragon King's eye from Yukiji but if unable to do it and instead helps her eat it. Some more years later, she appears as mysterious girl whom Yukiji saves from being killed by the village men when they thought she was a youkai. She takes her to her home and treats her like a member of her family. Nanami helps Yukiji with being able to live her dreams; to find happiness and get married by acting as a substitute in her wedding procession when it was found out that Akura-ou was after her life. After Yukiji sees Nanami disappear back to the future, she starts to think of her as a messenger from heaven, and continues to think of her often even though years had passed since they had last seen each other. As for Nanami, she was jealous of her because she thought of her as Tomoe's lover. Still, Nanami went out of her way to get her to find happiness, hoping for her to be happy in the end, and was truly devastated after learning of her death. Once she found out that she was related to Yukiji, Nanami cried in happiness, relieved that a part of Yukiji still continues to live inside her. Fuuta Was her servant boy when she was in her adopted father's house. He had very high respect for her and often told others about her hard past after youkai burnt her home down. He cared for her deeply and hoped that she would be happy in her new life when she got married. He later joins in the search to find Ontake Mountain and is successful. Tomoe Along with Akura-ou, he burned down Yukiji's village, thus beginning Yukiji's hatred for yokai. She sees him as only a yokai, and wishes for his death. As shown when she told the village men that if the kid she was keeping her house for Nanami's sake was a yokai, then she would kill him with her own hands.The way she impassively cut off the head of a yokai, it's clear that she meant what she said. She saw Tomoe and Nanami's love connection when he dropped her off at the lord's house, calling her Yukiji. When Akura-ou raided her home, she made a desperate effort to protect her unborn child and begs Tomoe to save her despite her hatred for yokai. Even after he did so, she becomes cold towards him and keeps her eyes close when he is around in order to hide the fact she was Yukiji and not Nanami. When Tomoe learns that she may die from childbirth, he rushes to Ryou's Kingdom, retrieves his eye and feeds it to Yukiji, thus enabling a successful delivery. Akura-ou Though unknown to her, he was the yokai that attacked her hometown and her new house where she lived happily with her husband, whom Akura-ou beheaded. He left Yukiji once again with no family and now a widow carrying an unborn child. Feudal Lord of Koishikawa Was a feudal lord of a small country known as Koishikawa. He was Yukiji's husband for about eight years and they both lived happily. Yukiji cared for him a lot and considered him a good and kind man having looked out for her loving her enough that he wanted her as his only wife and not having any concubines which was considered unusual in that era, especially since Yukiji was too weak to bear children. However, by miracle, they soon find she was expecting a child after all, filling her husband with joy. Unfortunately, it was not soon after that their happiness came to an end when he was killed by Akura-ou. Yukiji cries, blaming herself for his death. Later, she imagined that he held her for the last time and promised to keep his bloodline safe and protect her unborn child at all costs, going as far as to ask help from one she truly despised, in which case was Tomoe. However during her time with Tomoe, she still thinks of him often as she believes that her husband's deceased soul still lives on and communicates with her through her dreams when he is worried about her. Hiiragi Hiiragi is her daughter. During her pregnancy, Yukiji was very ill and would have most likely not have been able to give birth to her healthy if it wasn't for the Dragon Lord's eye. The eye was passed on to the child. Yukiji loved her daughter very much, hoping that she will live a happy and long life in which youkai couldn't ruin. Yukiji was willing to risk her own health if her baby could be healthy. Some time after the birth of Hiiragi, she died, leaving her child alone. Nevertheless, Hiiragi lives a happy life and ends up having a healthy daughter of her own. Abilities Because she is human, she doesn't possess any spiritual power, however she does seem to be skilled in using a spear as shown in chapter 90 when she ruthlessly killed a yokai that had entered their home. She also has good body strength as shown when she told Nanami that she kicked a pervert in the face. Quotes "I am not from this village. My hometown was attacked by yokai, and everything was burnt down. That's why, in this world, I have no family. There's no one who's blood-related to me anymore. However, strangely, whenever I am with you, I can feel that same warmth and adoration from before... Nanami, getting married is a good thing. I'll be able to create someone who is of my own blood..." "I will be back after four or five days. I'll have Fuuta take care of you, so rest assured. It's nothing serious. It's only marriage. The master of the house from the other side just wants to see my face. So that I can earn more dowries." (About Nanami) "Her eyes are clear and pure." (To Nanami) "Follow me, I'll show you my family. What's your name?" (To Nanami) "All Yokai, Go and Die." (To Townsmen) "Don't touch me with your dirty hands." (To Nanami) "We are really not alike at all Nanami. I don't have your type of eyes. Yes, full of hope that will never dull in bad times." Trivia *Yukiji is an uncommon male (Though it is sometimes used as a female) Japanese name meaning "Snowy Road". Yuki (雪) means snow while Ji (路) means path, road, or journey. *Once Nanami travels back in the past again she meets the cruel Yukiji who has now become the adopted daughter of a nobleman. When news goes out that the fox demon Tomoe is hurt, Yukiji ignores it (Even though it is stated that she was the one who saved him), while Nanami goes out to find him and brings him back. *Nanami and Yukiji have similar features. Although their hairstyles are different, they have the same face apart from the eyes which, as noted by Yukiji, Nanami's eyes are too pure and innocent like, which was how she was able to tell she wasn't a yokai. *Yukiji's point of marriage is that it's a good thing because she can make someone from her own blood. Due to the destruction of her village, she was left alone. Nanami on the other hand believes that marriage is a scary and almost bad thing due to her family history of picking bad men. *Unlike Nanami, Yukiji appears to be more proper and lady-like, but Nanami seems to have a bigger heart than Yukiji, because she cares for both yokai and humans. *She can't hold down a lot of sake. *Both Yukiji and Nanami have no blood-related family to be with. *Both Nanami and Yukiji are considered shameful women in their home towns because of their backgrounds and situations. Both speak their minds and don't put up with men looking down on them. *Like Nanami, Yukiji was adopted into a higher status. Thought she was adopted into a high status family while Nanami was given the position of deity. *The voice actor for Yukiji is the same as the one for Nanami. Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Female characters